[*BCM*] Seattle CM turns ugly

[john saylor]

hey

On Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 9:03 AM, Anne Wolfe <goannego at gmail.com> wrote:
> If you want to enlighten people, generally antagonising them isn't the best
> way to go.

i don't think enlightenment was on anyone's mind. the CM rides are
about *taking* back the streets [among other things].

i don't have much faith in the press, so i am sure this is being
played as 'cyclist mob'- after all, that will sell more papers than
'insane driver' [besides, car dealers pay more advertising dollars
than bike shops] ...

> Why did civil disobedience work?

civil disobediance doesn't always work.

as you [indirectly] point out- it is in the nature of humans to
retaliate. when a bunch of their fellow cyclists get run over, the
first reaction is to strike back.

it takes very a special and disciplined [or extremely outgunned]
population to use non-violent tactics. you are asking people to go
against their nature [possible, but very difficult]. gandhi himself
said satyagraha is the most difficult kinda resistance possible.

-- 
\js [ http://or8.net/~johns/ ]